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Restored World War II bomber takes to the skies this weekend in Concord
Photo by Dakota Gardner
The Liberty Belle takes flight this weekend at Concord Regional Airport.
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Published: August 27, 2009
CONCORD - If a machine could be a hero, this would be it.
The Liberty Foundation's B-17 "Liberty Belle" is one of only 14 surviving bombers of its kind still flying today, and is making its home at the Concord Regional Airport for the week.
The Liberty Foundation, a nonprofit museum dedicated to preserving America's aviation history, funded the complete restoration of the "Liberty Belle."
The foundation also offers the public an opportunity to fly a "mission" on the historic icon for $395 for members of the Liberty Foundation, and $430 for non- members. All fees paid for the flights go to the maintenance and upkeep of the bomber.
The pilots and mechanics are all volunteers.
Bob Hill of Nashville, Tenn., and John Dupont of Santa Fe, N.M., are two of the volunteer pilots who man the controls.
"Historically what we do is fly a weekend in a given city. Then we move the plane on a Monday to another location," Hill said.
"I fly this airplane about 230 or 240 hours a year."
Hill was a former fire bomber who fights fires from the air, and Dupont was a corporate pilot. Both men are retired.
"There are only eight of these planes flying in the U.S., and two in Europe," Hill said. "This is one of the nicest B-17 restorations there is."
The pilots say that while many veterans come out to see the plane, a surprising number of siblings and spouses want to experience the "Liberty Belle."
"Usually the husband may be deceased at this time, and we get the wife who is elderly and just wants to know what it was like. Just a little slice of what it was like," Hill said.
Sitting in the belly of the plane, a visitor can hear the roar and strong vibration of the propellers.
They can place their hands on the steel of the guns and imagine the heroes who occupied this flying tribute to their bravery.
The B-17, or the "Flying Fortress," was involved in every theater of operation during World War II.
The majority of the B-17s, flew in Europe by the 8th Air force.
They participated in countless missions from bases in England deep into enemy territory.
Out of 12,732 planes produced between 1935 and 1945, 4,735 were lost in combat.
The B-17 saw action in later wars like Korea and Israel in 1948, and even saw action in Vietnam.
This specific B-17 was built towards the end of the war and never saw combat.
The plane had been sold in 1947 for scrap metal to a mining company, but was quickly resold to Pratt & Whitney, who heavily modified it as a test bed for their T-34 and T- 64 turbo prop engines.
This made the B-17 a five-engine plane.
In 1979, after being donated to the Connecticut Aeronautical Historic Society, a tornado heavily damaged the plane.
Restoration on the aircraft began in 1992, after the plane was sold to Don Brooks of the Liberty Foundation.
Brooks felt a deep connection with the plane because his father flew B-17s in the war.
He painted the "Liberty Belle" as a tribute to the brave aircrew of WWII, but especially for his father, who was a tail gunner and flew many missions in the original Liberty Belle.
It took the Foundation 14 years to restore the "Liberty Belle," which took to the air for the first time in 38 years on Dec. 8, 2004.
Today, the plane travels around the country, giving the public an opportunity to tour the aircraft and see the viewpoints of the different combat crew positions.
Several of the doors on the aircraft are painted in signatures of the many veterans who have stepped back in time with a visit to the plane.
Flight missions will be available to the public August 29 and August 30 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Concord Regional Airport.
• Contact reporter Robin L. Gardner: 704-789-9140.
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